Category: Grime/Glitter

Why review anything? What does it matter what I think? It’s my opinion, formed through my perspective and biases, which could change through time and experiencing other media. No matter how closely our opinions could occasionally match, we aren’t the same. Are reviews meant to save time and money? If I say something is good, would you be more likely to check it out? I think reviews should provide information, anecdotes, and friction to consider.

We have too many distractions. Some distractions are good. Too many distractions leads to that certain indecisiveness that spoils us of our time, enables us to be lazy, and prevents us from doing what we must. These distractions help us cope with terrible commutes or mediocre gigs at the expense of addressing what we must do to resolve the origins of these stressors. Taken broadly, the more we distract ourselves, the less we can do.

Seattle traffic is beyond capacity. A stretch of I-5 (northbound and southbound) that usually takes around 5 minutes to drive through in light traffic now exceeds 20 minutes when all the commuter single-occupancy vehicles leave their gigs at 5PM. Wade it out until 7PM and it’s less terrible. The traffic focuses until, and dissipates after, one point: Mercer Street. Our new neighbor has invited all of their friends without the least bit of consideration for anyone else.

The world would be boring if we were exactly alike. If we all had similar mental or physical traits, then perhaps most external conflicts might slow down, however I don’t think we’d become peaceful. How many conflicting thoughts do you have on a daily basis? How often do like-minded groups disagree? Instead, I think we should celebrate, explore, and learn from our differences. The more I learn from others, the more I learn about myself.

Our careers permeate into everything we do. When I get invested in my work, I am no longer Anthony or the writer with the nickname Zombiepaper, I am an entity in complete service to my employer. (Oops.) We all sacrifice our humanities for money and security, though. In this first in a 12-day exploration of careers, let’s talk about “the gig life,” and how I retain, or restore, my humanity while working hard and smart.

I wouldn’t be able to output the volume of literature I currently write [500+ words published daily] without my workflow process. I’ve covered my approach to resolving writer’s block in the “Overcoming Writer’s Block” thought piece. Let’s cover what happens when I have the semblance of an idea and how I go about turning that into a finished product. It’s not just about finding a random photo, writing for a bit, and calling it good enough.

While my current rating system was forged during 9 years of cataloging 6188+ albums, re-cataloging anime I’d seen years ago got me thinking about changing opinions. What looks like garbage now, like these Street Fighter statues below, might take on a nostalgic or regretful bent in the future. I might look back 10 years from now and say, “I shoulda got these things!” No use buying crap you might want later, or holding onto regrets over missed opportunities.

I missed three alarms. It’s easy enough to sleep through chirping alarms when you’re tired. My backup alarm, set much later, startled me awake. Those alarms were trivial on the surface, however, you can draw analogies from that. I plant situational alarms that sound in subtle ways, so if something goes off, then it’s time for me to investigate before something worse happens. They’re like red flags so when one of those sound… “let’s investigate!”

One of my favorite things to do at work is taking the seriousness out of certain situations. This microwave’s note explained it was “not heating food.” I saw an opportunity: “Only heats science experiments.” While I am professional when needed in most situations, I also find the value in providing some humor in otherwise drab, stressful, and boring workplaces. More importantly, work should be like play, in that you enjoy going to work. If not?